Lawyer for Minn. cop: Philando Castile 'stoned,' negligent before shooting

The attorneys for the Minnesota police officer who fatally shot Philando Castile on Thursday called on a judge to dismiss manslaughter and other charges against their client, arguing Castile was “stoned” and his actions contributed to his death.

The push for dismissal of charges against St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez comes as the Justice Department on Thursday detailed its plans to conduct a comprehensive review of the police department in suburban St. Paul, which has faced nationwide scrutiny following the controversial incident in July.

Yanez was charged last month with second-degree manslaughter and two counts of dangerous discharge of a firearm for the fatal shooting of Castile following a traffic stop. The aftermath of the controversial shooting was broadcast on Facebook Live by Castile's girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, who along with her daughter were passengers in the vehicle.

But Yanez’s attorneys on Thursday filed a motion to dismiss the manslaughter charge, arguing that Castile’s actions during the July altercation contributed to his death.

“The status of being stoned (in an acute and chronic sense) explains why Mr. Castile, 1) did not follow the repeated directions of Officer Yanez; 2) stared straight ahead and avoided eye-contact; 3) never mentioned that he had a carry permit, but instead said he had a gun; and 4) did not show his hands,” according to a memo supporting the motion to dismiss.

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The memo suggests that Yanez's legal team will make Castile's alleged marijuana use an important part of the defense strategy should the case go to trial.

Defense attorney Early Gray noted in the memo that autopsy results indicated that Castile had high levels of THC, the mind-altering ingredient in marijuana, in his blood. Castile’s girlfriend confirmed to authorities that the two had smoked marijuana before the stop that day, and marijuana was also in the car at the time of the incident. The officer's legal team also pointed to photos from an Instagram account they say Castile used that showed marijuana and marijuana use.

Castile was pulled over while driving in the nearby suburb of Falcon Heights because he resembled a suspect in a gas station robbery that had taken place earlier in the evening, according to prosecutors. Before he was shot, Castile told Yanez that he was carrying a firearm — he had a permit to do so — and told the officer that he was not pulling it out, prosecutors said.

Yanez, however, said he thought Castile was reaching for a weapon and fired seven times in quick succession as Reynolds and her 4-year-old daughter sat nearby. Reynolds told Yanez that he was only reaching for his ID, and an audio recording captures Castile uttering “I wasn’t reaching for it” before he died, prosecutors say.

Gray alleges in the filing that Castile acted negligently by failing to follow protocols that licensed gun owners are instructed to use during their permit-to-carry classes, actions that led to Yanez firing his weapon. The memo also states that Castile falsely claimed on his permit application that he was not a user of an unlawful substance. He was cited three times in 2005, 2006 and 2008 for "marijuana in vehicle" violations.

"This is critical because unlawful narcotics users are not eligible to own, let alone carry, a firearm on their person," the memo says.

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A spokesman for the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office declined to comment on the motion to dismiss.

The fatal shooting of Castile occurred during the same week as the police-involved shooting of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge. The two incidents spurred protests around the country, including one in Dallas where five law enforcement officers were fatally shot by a sniper.

The review of the St. Anthony Police Department was announced Thursday and will be conducted by the DOJ's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS). It is being launched at the request of the villages of St. Anthony as well as neighboring towns that are also patrolled by St. Anthony police officers. The DOJ's COPS program has launched similar reviews with police departments in 16 other cities in recent years.

The review is different than the civil rights investigations of police departments that are currently underway in cities such as Baltimore and Chicago, and one completed in Ferguson earlier this year that resulted in the St. Louis suburb agreeing to a consent decree that legally mandates a series of changes of that police department.  The intention of the COPS review is to provide the department recommendations and technical assistance to help it improve public trust, said Ronald Davis, director of the COPS program..

"How are we sure they are  going to do it?," Davis said. "We're not. This is not going to be enforced through the court of law. It's going to enforced through the court of public opinion."

Follow USA TODAY Chicago correspondent Aamer Madhani on Twitter: @AamerISmad